Time:
11/12/2022 08:00 PM PST
11/12/2022 09:00 PM MST
11/12/2022 10:00 PM CST
11/12/2022 11:00 PM EST
11/13/2022 04:00 AM GMT
11/13/2022 05:00 AM CET
11/13/2022 12:00 PM Taiwan
11/12/2022 08:00 PM PST
11/12/2022 09:00 PM MST
11/12/2022 10:00 PM CST
11/12/2022 11:00 PM EST
11/13/2022 04:00 AM GMT
11/13/2022 05:00 AM CET
11/13/2022 12:00 PM Taiwan
報名網址：TYRA Talk 11月12號
研究領域 (Field):
theater, performance studies, history, gender, sexuality, digital humanities
研究子領域 (Sub-field):
East Asian theater (in particular China and Taiwan), Chinese cultural history, Sinophone studies, data analysis
theater, performance studies, history, gender, sexuality, digital humanities
研究子領域 (Sub-field):
East Asian theater (in particular China and Taiwan), Chinese cultural history, Sinophone studies, data analysis
Abstract:
Much of the work to date on Peking opera and gender has paid attention to male actors’ cross-dressing to play women. In contrast, this talk centers on well-known male impersonator Meng Xiaodong (1908–1977), who was recognized as the most qualified successor of the Yu school (Yu pai). Meng Xiaodong’s significance not only lies in her artistic achievements, but also sheds light on the transformation and performativity of gender roles during the 1920s to 1940s. Her art destabilized actors’ dominant positions in theater across the late imperial to Republican eras, while the media reportage surrounding her points to actresses’ continued struggles to escape from normative gender expectations since the late imperial era. Concomitantly, the western-imported novel term, “new women” (xinnüxing or xinfunü), disrupted the existing structure of female sexuality and caused chaos about the actress’ gender roles. Through analyzing tabloid articles surrounding Meng Xiaodong, I begin with an interrogation of the actress’ “body problem,” that is, the assumption that actresses’ bodies were available for the viewing pleasure of patrons and audiences, both on and off the stage. I then scrutinize affective experiences of actresses, patrons, and audiences centering on the problem to crystalize the morphology of Chinese eroticism and examine how the eroticism, in turn, shaped the affective encounters and, even, contributed to the transformation of gender roles. Ultimately, I argue that Meng Xiaodong showcased resistance against Peking opera actors’ fixed performativity of genders in everyday life, further reflecting changes in gender discourses in the Republican era.
Much of the work to date on Peking opera and gender has paid attention to male actors’ cross-dressing to play women. In contrast, this talk centers on well-known male impersonator Meng Xiaodong (1908–1977), who was recognized as the most qualified successor of the Yu school (Yu pai). Meng Xiaodong’s significance not only lies in her artistic achievements, but also sheds light on the transformation and performativity of gender roles during the 1920s to 1940s. Her art destabilized actors’ dominant positions in theater across the late imperial to Republican eras, while the media reportage surrounding her points to actresses’ continued struggles to escape from normative gender expectations since the late imperial era. Concomitantly, the western-imported novel term, “new women” (xinnüxing or xinfunü), disrupted the existing structure of female sexuality and caused chaos about the actress’ gender roles. Through analyzing tabloid articles surrounding Meng Xiaodong, I begin with an interrogation of the actress’ “body problem,” that is, the assumption that actresses’ bodies were available for the viewing pleasure of patrons and audiences, both on and off the stage. I then scrutinize affective experiences of actresses, patrons, and audiences centering on the problem to crystalize the morphology of Chinese eroticism and examine how the eroticism, in turn, shaped the affective encounters and, even, contributed to the transformation of gender roles. Ultimately, I argue that Meng Xiaodong showcased resistance against Peking opera actors’ fixed performativity of genders in everyday life, further reflecting changes in gender discourses in the Republican era.
